Rockies Ice 2004/2005

Upper Tiers of Polar Circus.

Weeping Pillar (Raphael Slawinsky Photo).

Weeping Wall, Lower Tier (Raphael Slawinsky Photo).

Upper Weeping Wall, Mare in Winter, Ice-T.

Weeping Wall, Left Side.

Kate Sinclair on the top of the first pitch of Proffesor Falls.

Barry Blanchard on the 2nd pitch on Sea of Vapors.

The new Canmore veterinarian Donald leading the second pitch of Terminator.

Polar Circus, The Pencil (not looking quite as steep as it was due to a wide angle 20mm lens :)

On French Reality (Robert Rogoz photo).

On French Reality (Robert Rogoz photo).

Region Hierarchy: Rockies & Columbia / Banff-Kananaskis / Hector
Park: Banff National Park
December 1, 2004
Calculated Length: 818 km
Maps: 82 J/14, 82 O/03, 82 O/04, 82 O/06, 83 C/02, 082 N/15
Participants: Chris Geisler, Pierre Darbellay, J.D., Kate Sinclair, Barry Blanchard, Matt Mueller, Paul McSorely, Deborah, Stewart, Raphael Slawinski, Leila, and Janez Ales
Equipment: Ice climbing gear and a 4x4!
Difficulty: See summary at the bottom of the description.

Abstract: Ice climbing in the Canadian Rockies.


Leila on the unusually friendly crux pitch of Polar Circus.

I moved to Canmore at the beginning of December 2004 after a decade of coming here on ice climbing trips. The frst month or so climbing was really good. First day of climbing I went out with a new roommate Pierre to Virtual Reality. At some point there were 6 of us living in the house, so climbing partners were in abundance. Next day Sean and co. dragged me to the end of the Stanley Headwall, where I scratched up my third mixed rote. Thriller was thrilling and I nearly gave up on ice climbing in order to pursue a full time career in mixed climbing :) Luckily, I kept my ice cool desires.
My work deadline resulted in about 80 hours of work before I could truly commit to climbing again. Nevertheless, I did manage to get out once with Kate for a day on Professor Falls. The trailhead starts only a stroll from the Banff Springs hotel. From there an hour bike ride on sheer ice or two hours of walking on the same surface deposits you at the base of the famous gulley. We did not have bikes :( This was the only ice route I had to hang on an ice screw back in 1994 when I started playing this cold game. This time around I had more fun. Of course if we forget the fact that 2nd and 3rd pitch were pouring with water from little icicles. Once you touch that it produces an opening for a true shower.

Terminator Wall was fat looking from the road. This time around we had bikes :) I headed up there on a cold day with Barry. It was cold enough that one of his picks broke. Sea of Vapors was great except for a streak of human shit from the last belay :( Views of the party on Terminator were very inviting.

I came back 3 days later with Matt. Two guys from Washington, say Billy and the Kidd, were ready to fight for the trophy when we passed them on the approach. So we decided to climb Sea of Vapors. The quiet plan was to climb Terminator afterwards. The random timing of the arrival of another party was luckily on our side. They turned the little ridge on the approach just as I unclipped from the last rappel. Billy was leading the third pitch of the big T when I started up the first one. Falling ice was not a problem due to the overhanging nature of the route and precisely this feature send some doubts into our heads. Apart from those fears we had a great time on the route I have been waiting for about ten years to climb. Terminator has not completely formed since 1996/1997 season. Well, this season it only lasted until the end of December when a cold snap cracked the pillar on the first pitch!
Stewart, a friend from Vancouver, joined me for new year’s and of course some ice climbing. His second day ever we went to the “famous” Grotto Canyon and later to the Johnson Creek. Driving to this remote area was a great test for me and my truck. Did not get to climb much but we did manage to drive into Waiporous Creek and scout the approaches to various climbs. After the new year’s festivities were over and we survived dodging the bullets at drug infested parties Stewart went back to the Coast.
With a cold front forecasted in 5 days we had some climbing to do before its arrival. So Raphael and I went up to the Icefields Parkway. The road was very icy and due to very slow traveling we only started climbing at 10 am. However, due to cold temps it turned out the timing was perfect. Weeping Wall has just been lit by warm sunrays when we started from the car. Climbing on the Weeping Pillar was great, no belay jackets necessary! The only trouble was that I already started feeling the nausea from my approaching flu. Ice was as soft as one would want but of course very wet. My gloves were soaked and I started having doubts about safety of the leashless game... Well, Raphael dropped his glove on the descent. So we had an incentive to go back up there the next day. We scrapped our plans for the La’Tabernac Bowl and returned for some Ice-T the next day.

There was already a party on the Left Side, Lower Weeping Wall when we arrived the next morning, well at 10 am of course. But the width of the curtain allowed another party on the very left side. It was the only line on the Lower Weeping Wall that I have not done yet. Soft blue ice led to huge cauliflowers with hundreds of white caked hanging icecles.

Initial idea for the top part was to climb Mare in Winter. I started on the left up towards the nice and rounded pillar to the left of the climber in the photo. It looked like a beautifull pillar about 1.5 m in diameter. When on top of the initial cone I noticed a one inch crack running across the whole pillar which is not uncommon with these things. However, there was no inside to the pillar, completely hollow with a 1 inch skin of ice... my second bail in a week! Raph launched on the right side and threaded right towards Ice-T without touching, what turned out to be a hollow and detached piece of ice.

I have quite a few pictures of the upper tiers of Polar Circus that were taken between 1994-2004. All taken with big plans in mind, plans I had to wait 10 years to come through. Waiting paid off...

After a day of rest I returned to the Parkway with Leila. It was her third attempt on Polar Circus. Well for me, this was another route I had been waiting 10 years for. Weather, partners, and avalanche danger all contributed at some time or another to this. As a reward I got to climb the Pencil, which formed after a number of dry years. A "fat crayon" they called it this year, with big mushrooms and a necessary crack near the top.

The sun hit us on top of the Pencil and warmed the whole upper bowl. Climbing on the upper part of Polar Circus was exceptional, soft ice and sunrays to warm us up. The ambience was simply stunning.

Already committed for the next day I got up for a trip to Johnson Creek with Raphael. This was a mistake since my body simply could not warm up after leaving the car. Due to new snow we had to deal with some spidrift which did not help...
I did catch a flu that later turned into bronchitis. So now I am home drinking hot tea and messing around on bivouac.com. Ice climbing wise I did not miss much because the low temperatures (-30/-40 C) of the second week of January, that persisted for three weeks, and a warm spell that followed (+12 C) for another three weeks, would have spoiled the fun anyway.
In late February I had a few more skiing and climbing days, Cool Spring and Kronenberg in Field, and one of the best routes I have done his year, French Reality at the start of Stanley Headwall was truly amazing. I did sneak in a ski of the famous Mt. Field's 1300m run, which due to a cold day at -20 C caused the return of my post viral chest infection... :)
A few early season rock climbing days in April and a couple of routes on Yamnuska (Fobidden Corner, Jimmy and the Cruisers (not completed due to cold temps and snow) finished off my season in the rockies :)

Climbs:
French Reality, Stanley Headwall, Bob Rogoz.
Cool Spring, Mt. Stephen, Field, Bob Rogoz.
Mt.Field, 1300m ski descent in good pow snow :)
Kronenberg, Mt. Dennis, Field.
Marion Falls / Caroline Falls (III WI 5, 100m / III WI 5, 50m), Waiporous Creek , Johnson Creek, Raphael Slawinski, 6.1.2005. (082 O/06; N 51:21.7 W 115:15.6; 11 U 621100 5691270) / (082 O/06; N 51:21.7 W 115:15.0; 11 U 621800 5691270)
The Pencil / Polar Circus, (WI 6, 50m / V WI 5 700m), Icefields Parkway, Leila, 5.1.2005. (83 C/02; N 52:07.0 W 116:59.5; 11U 501141 5773797)
Ice T / Left Side, (IV WI 5+ (WI 6), 200m / II WI 4, 180m), Upper / Lower Weeping Wall, Raphael Slawinski, 3.1.2005. (83 C/02; N 52:09.5 W 116:59.5; 11U 500540 5778470)
Weeping Pillar / Central Pillar, Upper / Lower Weeping Wall, (V WI 6, 170m / III WI 5+, 180m), Raphael Slawinski, 2.1.2005. (83 C/02; N 52:09.5 W 116:59.5; 11U 500540 5778470)
GBU - Right side / The Indifferent, (II WI 4+ / II WI 3), 40m, Ghost Valley, Stewart, 30.12.2004. (82 O/06; N 51:19.2 W 115:13.0; 11 U 624230 5686690)
Marion Falls, first pitch only WI 3+, 50m, (III WI 5, 100m), Waiporous Creek, Johnson Creek, Stewart and Matt Mueller, 28.12.2004. (082 O/06; N 51:21.7 W 115:15.6; 11 U 621100 5691270)
Grotto Falls / Mental Jewellery, (II WI 3, 55m / M6+, 12m), Grotto Canyon, Stewart, 27.12.2004. (082 O/03; N 51:04.2 W 115:13.1; 11 U 624880 5658810)
Moonlight / Snowline, (III WI 4, 110m / 100m ), Deborah, 24.12.2004. (82 J/14; N 50:52.0 W 115:06.4; 11 U 633190 5636520)
Chai Master, M7+, 15m, OS, Hafner Creek, Matt Mueller, 21.12.2004. (82 N/01; N 51:10.2 W 116:06.2; 11 U 562690 5668893)
Woody / Hocus Pocus , (M6+, 15m, OS / M7, 15m, OS), Bear Spirit Crag, Paul McSorely, 20.12.2004. (82 O/04; N 51:11.1 W 115:39.7; 11 U 593590 5670960)
Terminator / Sea of Vapours, (V WI 6- (5+ to 6+), 150m; V WI 5+ (5 to7), 165m), Trophy Wall, Mt. Rundle, Rocky Mountains, Matt Mueller, 18.12.2004. (082 O/03; N 51:09.8 W 115:29.6; 11 U 605380 5668810)
Sea of Vapours, V WI 5+ (5 to 7), 165m, Trophy Wall, Mt. Rundle, Rocky Mountains, Barry Blanchard, 13.12.2004. (082 O/03; N 51:09.8 W 115:29.6; 11 U 605380 5668810)
Californication / Half a Gronk, ( M7-, 15m, OS / M6, 15m), OS, Hafner Creek, Rocky Mountains, Kate Sinclair, 12.12.2004. (82 N/01; N 51:10.2 W 116:06.2; 11 U 562690 5668893)
Professor Falls, III WI 4, 280m, Mt. Rundle, Rocky Mountains, Kate Sinclair, 8.12.2004. (082 O/03; N 51:09.8 W 115:29.3; 11 U 605680 5668810)
Thriller, M9- WI5, 40m, RP (second try), Stanley Headwall, Rocky Mountains, J.D., 4.12.2004. (082 N/01; N 51:10.2 W 116:03.2; 11U 566180 5669150)
Virtual Reality, IV WI 6, 160m, Mount Murchison, Icefields Parkway, Rocky Mountains, Pierre Darbellay, 3.12.2004. (082 N/15; N 51:55.7 W 116:40.0; 11U 522910 5753110 )
Amadeus, III WI 4+, 50m, Barrier Mountain, Kananaskis, Rocky Mountains, Chris Geisler, 3.11.2004. (82 O/03; 11 U 636460 5655150; 51:02.0-115:03.2)

Upper Tellot Glacier Camp 2003

Upper Tellot Sunrise, taken from the base of Tellot Spire.

Hues on Mount Bute.

Sun Rays Towards Claw Peak.


Mount Waddingon Summits Through the Clouds.

Mount Waddington, Mount Munday, and Bravo Peak in the Morning Light.

Upper Tellot Evening Mist.

Dwarfs and Giants.

Janez Ales laybacking on the 4th pitch of Tripple Crescent.

Luca attempting the 3rd pitch.

Boys on the summit.

Dragon's Tail Camp in Morning Light.

Range Hierarchy: Pacific Cordillera / Coast Mountains / Pacific Ranges / Waddington Range
Region Hierarchy: BC Coast South / Fraser Plateau / Mount Waddington
July 16, 2003 (1 day)
Calculated Length: 12 km 92N/06
Participants: Graham Rowbotham and Janez Ales
Equipment: Glacier travel + standard rack.
Difficulty: All sorts of grades.

Abstract: Triple Crescent, a new route on Tellot Spire climbed by Graham Rowbotham, Luca, and Janez Ales, and two variations climbed by G. Rowbotham and J. Ales on Phantom Tower and Stiletto Needle.

Sumer 2003 saw a large party camped at the Dragon's Tail campground on the Upper Tellot Glacier, just south of Dragonback Peak. Participants were: Jesse Mason, Toby Froschauer, Jeff Hunt, Robert Nugent, Don Serl, Ade Miller, Graham Rowbotham, Luca Bellin, Silvia Alessi, and Janez Ales.
We were extremely lucky with the weather on this trip. Out of three weeks that my climbing partner Graham and I stayed on the Tellot Glacier we only had about 3-4 forced rest days due to storms or high winds. We spent the first two weeks at the Dragon's Tail Camp. The rest of the party was leaving and with some storm coming in we had to move all our stuff don to the Plummer Hut. The weather window came the next morning for the flight out. Graham and I decided in the last minute to stay there an additional extra week.
The nicest route we climbed was a new route on the Tellot Spire. From the Upper Tellot we climbed a variation of an existing route on Stilleto Needle, and a variation on the only route on Phantom Tower We also climbed the upper part of the South Ridge on Serra II (which was accessed through the col on the south side of Serra I), Dentiform, scramble up Dragonback Peak, and payed a visit to Plummer Hut where we joined the crowed on a social ascent of Claw Peak. There were total of eight of us on the summit on that beautiful afternoon. After moving te camp to the Plummer Hut we climbed routes on the Blade and Tedium Tower.

New route:
Triple Crescent, D+ 5.11, A1, 130m, FA, Tellot Spire, Upper Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, British Columbia; Graham Rowbotham, Luca, and Janez Ales; July 2003.
The route follows the buttress between the Central Dihedral, D+, 5.11a, 85m (Lorne Glick, Kai Hirvonen, Whit Richardson; 1998) visible on the left side of the photo and Southeast Dihedral, D, 5.10+, 80m (Michael Down, Scott Markey; July 1999).
P1, 5.10+, 60m: Straight up the right facing dihedral, when the angle eases off climb slightly right towards the second of the three small roofs. Belay strategies could vary, we put the 1st belay out of the fall line of the corner due to falling ice.
P2, 5.9, 15m: Climb up to a big ledge bellow a big left facing corner. This is slightly down and right from the start of the main feature on the Central Dihedral route.
P3: 5.11-, 25m: Start up a right leaning diagonal crack feature, stem to the corner on the right and pull on a suspicious block to reach the corner again. Some slab moves bing you to a hanging belay.

P4: 5.10+, A1, 30m: Three beautifull Crescent Crack like arcs (5.10+) and a step to the right along a horizontal crack bring you to the base of another crack. Show your mastery or use aid :) A slab leads to the base of the summit boulder. Mid fifth from there.

On the left you can see a right facing corner, the Central Dihedral route.
There is a 60m freehanging rappel from the summit, 30m scrambling, and another 30m rappel. The lengths of pitches add up to about 130 m of climbing.
(I am not sure what I was more worried about when I was right where I am in the photo: falling on my belayer or falling on my photographer :)
Routes with new variations:
Stilleto Needle, 5.10, 200m, 2pitch variation, OS, Upper Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, BC, Graham Rowbotham, 2003.
South Ridge, Phantom Tower, 3100m, 5.10, 2 pitch variation, 200m, FA, Sierras, Waddington Range, Graham Rowbotham, 2003.
Other routes:
South Ridge, Serra II, 3605m, TD, 45o 5.9, 600m (upper part), Sierras, Waddington Range, Graham Rowbotham, 2003.
Dentiform, East Peak, 3240m, East Couloir/North Ridge, AD, 55o/5.10, 120m, Upper Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, Graham Rowbotham, 2003.
Triple Crescent, Tellot Spire, 5.11 A1, 130m, FA, Upper Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, BC, Graham Rowbotham, 2003.
East Buttress, D, 5.10, 180m, OS, Blade, 3340m, Upper Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, BC, Graham Rowbotham, 2003.
West Ridge, AD+, 5.6, 130m, Claw Peak, 2812m, Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, BC, Graham Rowbotham, 2003.
Medium of Tedium, D, 5.10b R, 100m, OS, Tedium Tower, 2660m, Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, BC, Graham Rowbotham, 2003.

Waypoints:
51:24-125:11=Dragon's Tail Camp (3100 m)
51:24-125:12=Tellot Spire (3356 m)
51:23.1-125:12.1=Phantom Tower (3115 m)
51:23.4-125:11.6=Stiletto Peak (3395 m)
51:23.5-125:12.6=Serra I (3510 m)
51:23.2-125:11.3=Dentiform Peak (3215 m)
51:23.5-125:12.6=Serra II (3605 m)
51:22.4-125:09.7=Claw Peak (2818 m)
51:22.4-125:09.9=Plummer Hut (2680 m)
51:22.5-125:10=Photo Point (2739 m)

Upper Tellot Glacier Camp 2004

Jia Condon at the bivouac.com.

Jia Condon setting up a rappel of the South Ridge of Serra II.

Jia Condon on the 3rd pitch of String Fever.

Janez Ales on the 2nd pitch of String Fever (Jia Condon Photo).

Jia Condon on the 1st pitch of Guess what?

Dragonback Southast Face: Guess what? (blue) and String Fever (red).

Range Hierarchy: Pacific Cordillera / Coast Mountains / Pacific Ranges / Waddington Range
Region Hierarchy: BC Coast South / Fraser Plateau / Mount Waddington
July 15, 2004 (14 days)
Calculated Length: 2 km 92 N/06
Participants: Jia Condon and Janez Ales
Equipment: Glacier travel and standard rack
Difficulty: D 5.10+ 200m / D+ 5.11- 120m

Abstract: Dragonback Southast Face, with two (new) routes by Jia Condon and Janez Ales climbed in July, 2004: Guess what? and String Fever.

Due to the lack of good weather we were mostly camp bound at Dragon's Tail. A couple of sunny half-days allowed us to climb two (new) routes on the Southeast Face of Dragonback Peak. We called the first route "Guess What?". The name of the route refers to the weather we had. The answer is: "It is snowing again!" Here are the specs:
Guess what?, D 5.10+ (5.10, 5.10, 5.9, 5.7), 200m, FA, Dragonback Peak, Southeast Face, Upper Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, BC, Jia Condon and Janez Ales, July 2004.
P1, 5.10, 50m: Start to the right of a big cave and follow cracks slightly to the right.

P2, 5.10, 50m: Angle right and traverse into the big left facing corner.
P3, 5.9, 50m: Continue up the corner to a ledge with some big blocks.
P4, 5.7, 50m: A few moves around the blocks and a lot of scrambling brings you to the top.
String Fever, D+ 5.11- (5.10, 5.11-, 5.10+), 120m, FA, Dragonback Peak, Southeast Face, Upper Tellot Glacier, Waddington Range, BC, Jia Condon and Janez Ales, July 2004.
P1, 50m: Climb cracks to a slab below the big roof.
P2, 50m: The good news is that the roof will surprise you, the bad news is that the off-width above will also surprise you :)
P3, 20m: The final little wide crack.

Plans were again big but the weather was not right. During our planned 18 day stay we had less than a handfull semi decent weather days. One of the storms cought us on the south side of Serra II. Due to my slide on the slope and consequently a lost tent, the storm night bivy did not look like a good option, but it was the only one. Not knowing how long will the storm last we did not use our sleeping bags during the wet night when we were covered only with a small tarp stretched over our tent poles. Luckily we were able to return to our camp the next morning. Snow accumulation was big enough to prevent any rock climbing and yet small enough that allowed us an escape accross the notorious south face slope of Serra II.

Due to an interesting discussion we overheard on the radio we had to work hard not to name one of the routes according to the quote: "... a pound of a butter and a cucumber..."

Waypoints:
51:24-125:11=Dragon's Tail Camp (3100 m)
51:24-125:11=Dragonback Peak (3288 m)
51:24-125:13=South Ridge Serra II (3605m)

Mount Rexford and Nesakwatch Spires

Climbing a perfect splitter, Nivea on the top pitch of the W Ridge of the false summit of Mount Rexford.

Range Hierarchy: Pacific Cordillera / Cascade Range / Canadian Cascades / Skagit Range
Region Hierarchy: Cascades / Washington North Cascades, Canadian Cascades SW / Slesse
August ??, 2003 (5 days)
Calculated Length: 0 km 92 H/04
Participants: Graham Rowbotham, Nivea, and Janez Ales
Equipment: Single and sometimes double rack up to #5 Camalot.
Difficulty: 5.9-5.11
Abstract: Two visits to the area with two partners: Graham Rowbotham, and Nivea resulted in half a dozen new pitches on Nesakwatch Spires and Mount Rexford.

Dru Breyshaw's picture of the West Face of the South Nesakwatch Spire. Route Alpine Gardens is marked with purple and a West Ridge variation on Mount Rexford is marked with yellow.The first trip was blessed with great weather, so a tent was not necessary. We camped just west of the North Spire with great views of the Slesse Mountain.
First day we climbed south-west ridge on North Spire with two new pitches and some run out face climbing...
Second day we were less enthusiastic about difficulties and we went peak bagging. West ridge of the west false summit offered a great crack right up the left (north) side of an arrete. To the right on the west side of it I spotted a really nice off-width, something to come back for.
I was back. After a week of partner searching I found somebody that was "keen" on carying a full size rack up to #5 Camalot up to the spires. That is of course on top of my rack of the same size. Yes, two #5 Camalots :) One could do with one, but I was happy to have two with me on the 10c OW pitch. In any case, Nivea was the "happy" companion.
We planned four days in the mountains. However, on the first one, Friday, it rained all day. So all we did was drive to the gate and slept there. The next morning we slept in due to more rain. By 10 am the rain stopped. Trail through the clear cut was pleasant but for all the wetness around. Packs were heavy too :) On top of two racks we also had a tent this time, for some obvious reasons. On the way up we met a party of three unhappy campers, some with brand new boots, who were "all soaked through the night" and called it quits.
We did manage to get up to the idyllic camp spot on the west side below south spire and Mount Rexford. It rained all Saturday afternoon and through the night. Nivea was a miserable tent companion threatening to go "down" if the rain does not stop. My mind was saying no, we did not bring 4 days of food, two racks, two double ropes, and a tent - to assure us a shot on the off-width, just to go down bcause of some misery imported from the east coast. So I asked her if she knows "why is a Gypsy boy smiling when it is raining?" That didnot get through... Short discussion led to me falling asleep for about 18 hours... and a good sleep it was :)
It only stopped raining by noon on Sunday. We went up to the base of the false summit with the warming afternoon sun on our backs. Climbing was great and routes dried out fast in the plesant wind.
For this short route start climbing on the false summit on the west facing wall on its left side, via some right facing corners and a small roof. Join the belay of the existing arete route that starts on the north side of the false summit, and then thread right out of the belay "cave", through the chimney above it and then step left into an obvious off-width. All this ground is to the right of the old 5.8 route on the arete. On top of the off-width you will find a good rest and then beautiful 15 meters of a splitter crack. Route is marked with a yellow line on the picture above. The following picture tells you how good it really was...

More smiles followed the next day. We climbed a route on the West Face of the South Nesakwatch spire. It starts to the left of the route (B) on Drew Brayshaw's report up a series of right trending ramps and crosing routes (B) and (C).

Climbing gets progressively harder up to 5.11-, which we encountered in the right facing corner filled with a mixture of good finger locks covered by some beautiful alpine flowers. Some gardening had to be done to reveal the holds but flowers were left in place :) Hence the route name. On top of this corner, step left and join the route (C) for its amazing last pitch, another splitter crack that is well visible from the cirque below. Exit through some off-width/chimney where one should try and avoid jamming the helmet :) Walk out was harsh on the knees. I had to resort to coffee on the drive to Vancouver. A good long weekend it was!
"Gipsy boy always smiles when it rains because after rain comes the sun :)"

Routes climbed:
W Ridge, 5.8, AD-, 300m, Mt. Rexford, 2320m, Graham Rowbotham, 2003.
SW Ridge, 5.10, D+, (5.10-, 5.10 R variation, FA), ?p, North Nsakwatch Spire, 2195m, Graham Rowbotham, 2003.
W Ridge, 5.10c OW, D, 2p variation, FA, 300m, Mt. Rexeford, 2320m, Nivea, 2003.
Alpine Gardens, 5.11b, 3p variation, FA, South Nasakwatch Spire, 2256m, Nivea, 2003.

Waypoints:
49:02.2-121:31.7=Nesakwatch Spires
49:02.0-121:31.5=Mount Rexford

Viennese - Clarke Traverse August 2004

Mount Bardean Summit and Alpine Flowers

The Window on the East Ridge of Mount Clark


Region Hierarchy: BC Coast South / Garibaldi Park / Robertson
August ??, 2004 (2 days)
Calculated Length: 8 km 92 G/09
Participants: Janez Ales
Equipment: Rock climbing euipment.
Difficulty: 5.8, (13km, 2500m from the car)
Abstract: Viennese - Clarke Traverse August 2004. One of the finest days I had in the Vancouver-local coast mountains.

Mount Bardean and Ratney Summits with alpine flowersin the foreground from the SW side of Mount Clarke.Viennese-Mt. Clarke Traverse, S, East Ridge Viennese 5.8, 300m, East Ridge Mt. Clark, 5.8, 200m; 13h, 2500m, 13km, Chehalis, Coast Mountains, BC, 2004.
If I was ever going to do this again as a day trip I would drive the night before and snooze in my queen size bed in the back of my pickup. I was not so smart the first time around. although I started from Vancouver at 4 am I was only able to start walking at 8 am. The trail is really beautiful past Statlu Lake and Upper Statlu Lake and then up towards the pass E of Peak 6500.
By now it was hot and a slight breeze was very welcome. Views were amazing. On top of the Viennese Peak, where I had forgotten my watch, I heard voices. I thought that the lone climbing must be getting to me.
The interesting bit here was the window that appeared on the E Ridge of Mount Clarke with a view of Upper Statlu and Statlu Lake. Bypassing this unstable feature was definitely harder than the 5.8 on E Ridge of Viennese Peak. Suupose to be mid 5th... Is this window new? Jeff does not mention it in his report.

Views got better and better with Mt. Judge Howay coming into the full view, its silhouette carving a grand figure on the sunset sky. Descent of W Ridge of Clarke was the only place where I needed my rope. I would highly recomend talus walking from the W side of Clarke in the sunset light. Some people avoid this bit, I guess mostly due to time constraints. But this was the highlight of the day!
I say forget the neutral density filters, just find a spot where you do not need them!

The day was coming to an end and I managed to cut the descent short through the waterfalls on the N side of Upper Statlu Lake.

It was dark when I reached the creek. I took my glasses off my face and drank some water, a lot of water. I continued towards the lake and had a brief chat with a couple that settled there for the night. Off I went with my headlamp into the dark. But not for long. I was heaving a hard time finding marking tapes. I realized that my glasses were not on my face!?! Knowing that I had no chance of finding them in the dark - they are frameless. I too settled at the lake, but with only a tarp that the couple lend me. A cold night it was and after getting chilled to the bone I started a fire just before sunrise.
Even in full light in the morning I had passed the spot where my glasses were three times before I had spotted them... frameless, with very thin temples. Now I know why I should have kept my thick plastic geek glasses:)
The trip down to the Statlu Lake was uneventful except for beautiful waterfalls in the narrow canyon and for meeting an enthusiastic photographer with a lot of gear.
A swim was in order in the warm water of Statlu Lake. Somehow I felt presence of other people and as soon as I put my clothing on I bumped into a group of three. The first one to come into my view was Carla, also the most talkative. She knew of the waterfall around the corner. I had seen some great scenery the previous day but this waterfall canyon was amazing.
Coming down to Chilliwack Lake resulted in another social encounter. Billy and (another) Kidd (The Same Billy but not the same Kidd than the one from the Terminator Trip were there at their pickup cooling their tired legs. They biked and walked from Chilliwack Lake all the way back to the Nursery Pass. A good exercise. I have done it on foot before, but I would have not done it if I had a 4x4. They did have it. Go figure!
An excellent day (and a half :)

Guy and John's Tree

Bugaboos 2002/2003

Snowpatch Spire and Gendarme on the Kain Route on Bugaboo Spire.

East post Spires with glacial tarns.

More of the same...

Trail to Apple Be Campground.

Snowpatch scent sock loundry.

HighCrackClimber :)

This is NOT a poser shot :) A stollen apple...